Saying Goodbye to Sentimental Clutter

Decluttering can be extremely liberating, and it certainly frees up a lot of space, making the home brighter and easier to clean, but it isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to sentimental clutter.

Old love letters, family heirlooms and mementos from fun times past - they’re all difficult to part with, even if we know we should, and we want to have a less cluttered home. It’s understandable because they’re part of us, but if you really are determined to declutter your sentimental stuff, here are some tips to make the process a bit easier on you:

Gather It Up

First of all, gather all of your sentimental clutter up into one or more boxes so that it’s all in one space. Then, when you get a brave moment, it’ll be a lot easier to tackle it.

Get Help

If you don’t feel like you’ll be able to part with anything if you’re left to your own devices, enlist a trusted friend or family member to help you out. Tell them to give you a reality check whenever you try to keep that crusty old teddy bear that’s sprouting mold or those letters from the ex-boyfriend who treated you mean and whose name you can’t even bear to utter. If they can make you see sense, you should have a much better decluttering success rate, and be able to say goodbye to more sentimental stuff.

If you try to get rid of all your sentimental clutter in one go, chances are you’ll get overwhelmed; you’ll feel like you’re throwing your whole life away and you won’t be able to continue.

Instead, leave the boxes in an area you pass regularly, and every time you pass, pick up one or two items and decide what you want to do with them.

Hire a Storage Unit

If you find it practically impossible to get rid of anything, hiring a storage unit from bekins is a great way to get the clutter out of your house and get some perspective. If you can live without your clutter for a week/month/year, there’s a good chance you’ll realize that you don’t really need it anyway and you’ll be able to finally free yourself from your clutter.

One thing that works for a lot of people trying to say goodbye to their sentimental stuff is snapping pictures of it. Digital images take up no physical space or even any of your digital space if you use Dropbox, but they still allow you to look back at those sentimental things you’ve accumulated whenever you’re in a reminiscing kind of mood. It’s the best of both worlds!

Pass Them On

If the sentimental clutter you want to get rid of isn’t too personal, ask your friends and family members if perhaps they would like it. It’s often a lot easier to get rid of stuff when you know that it’s going to a good home where it will be cherished by someone who loves it as much as you once did, and when you visit them, you’ll still get to see it from time to time.